Multiplex sewing-machine



(No Modl.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. GARDNER.

MULTIPLEX SEWING MACHINE.

No. 379,570. Y Patented Mar. 20, 1888.

N PETERS. Pmwfmhowpnu, wnhingum, D4 C.

(No Mod-e1.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

M. GFARDNER.

MULTIPLEX SEWING MACHINE.

180,379,570. Patented Mar. ZO, 1888.

' New" kal@ Gardner amcfg (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

M. GARDNER.

MULTIPLBX SEWING MACHINE. No. 379,570. Patented Mar. 20, 1888.

N. Finns. Phewmhagmphur, wnshmmon. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

MARSHALL GARDNER, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES STONE AND THOMAS H. BALL, BOTH OF SAME PLACE, AND SIMON ELORSHEIM,

OE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MULTIPLI-:x SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent. No. 379,570, dated March 20, 1888.

Application tiled January 25, 1886.

To @ZZ whom it' may concern,.-

Beit known that I, MansHaLL GARDNER, of Aurora, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Multiplex Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improved sewing-machine of that class adapted for sewing at once two or more parallel lines of stitching, and which comprise a reciprocating needle bar carrying a series of needles arranged side by side at a distance apart equal to the spaces between the proposed lilies of stitching, and a series of reciprocating shuttles operating in connection with the said needles.

The machine shown is more especially in tended for use in the manufacture of corsets, for securinga series ol' parallel stiffcning-strips in place between layers of flexible material by stitching through the said layers of exible material between the strips; but a machine made in the manner herein shown and de scribed may be employed in any case where it is desired to make a series of parallel lines of stitching.

The invention embraces improvements in the shuttles and means for operating the latter, and improvements in other features of construction in the machine, as will hereinafter appear; and it consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention may be more readily under stood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a view illustrating my invention, showing in central longitudinal section the parts of the machine concerned in forming the stitches. Fig. '2 is a sectional plan view of the same, taken upon line a: :v of Fig. l, illustrating the parts below the top plate of said figure. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section ofthe parts shown in Figs. l and 2, taken upon line y y of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a detail sec- Renewed May 23, 1887. Serial No. 239,110.

(No model.)

tional yview taken upon line m a' of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a peculiar form of bobbin or thread-holder intended for use in the shuttles of the machine illustrated. Fig. 6 is an exterior elevation of one of the shuttles shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3. Fig. 7 is a similar view of a shuttle intended for use in a slightly-modiled form of the machine.

In the said drawings, A indicates the main frame of the machine; A` the top plate thereof; B, the'needlearm; C, the needle-bar, c c, the needles, and D a longitudinallyarranged revolving shaft, by means of which motion is given to the several parts of the machine, said shaft, as herein shown, being located beneath the top plate, A', and provided with a cam, E, through the medium of which the shuttles are actuated, as will hereinafter appear.

The needle-bar C may be actuated to give the needles the usual reeiprocatory movement from the shaft D, or otherwise in any wellknown or preferred manner.

F F are a series of shuttle-guides or raceways arranged parallel with'each other beneath the top plate, A, and at the same distance apart as the needles c o, and G G are a series of shuttles, which are held and slide in said guides in position to properly engage the threads upon the needles.

H is a reciprocating shuttle-carrier, which is located beneath the shuttle-guides F F, and which comprises a plate, H', adapted to slide in guides I I, and two transversely-arranged plates or bars, Hl H2, carried by the plate H', and movable vertically upon the latter, said plates or bars H2 H2 being provided with a series of upwardly-projecting prongs or teeth. h h, extending through spaces or slots f f in or between the raceways F F, and adapted to engage the shuttles G G in such manner as to cause said shuttles to partake of the reciproeatory movement of the carrier, the shuttles preferably being provided with depressions or recesses g g, to cause a positive engagement of the teeth It h therewith. The toothed plates or bars H2 HIZ are moved vertically in the reciprocating movement of the carrier by engagement Awith two cam plates or bars, J J, which are bent downwardly or deflected to a slight extent in their parts opposite the needles., Fig. 3, so as to move each of said toothed plates away from the shuttles as the said plates pass the needles, the parts being so arranged that the plate which is in advance in the movement of the carrier will, after passing the needles, become re-engaged with the shuttles before the other plate becomes disengaged therefrom, so that the several shuttles will be positively actuated by the carrier at all times during the reciproeatory movement thereof, while at the same time the prongs h will be free from the shuttles to permi tthe free passage ofthe th readloops over the shuttles as the latter passmthe needles.

In the particular construction illustrated the toothed bars or plates H2 Hl are movably sustained upon the plate H and held downwardly in contact with the cam-bars .I J by means of spring-arms h h, attached to the toothed bars and the plates H, said toothed bars being desirably provided with anti-friction rollers h2 h2, resting upon the cam-bars J J. Two cam-bars and rollers are preferably used in order to insure the opposite ends of the toothed plates being equally moved.

The toothed plates HI'H2 may in practice be movably sustained in. the plates H otherwise than as shown, and may be held in contact with the cam-surfaces by gravity or otherwise-as, for instance, instead of the cambars J J and means for holding the toothed plates H2 H2 in contact therewith-such as are shown herein-an equivalent construction in which the said toothed plates engage cam slots or grooves adapted to positively move the bars in--both directions may he used, as'may be found desirable or convenient.

The means for actuating the carrier H(shown in the accompanying drawings) comprise a vibrating lever, K, pivoted between its ends to a vertical stud, k, ixed to the plate A, and actuated from the cam E, said lever being connected with the plate II by means of a stud,

h3, upon said plate engaging a slot, 7c', in the `end portion of the lever. The lever is moved by means rof a cam-groove, e, in the vertical face of the cam E through the medium of a roller-pin, Z, mounted upon a transversely-sliding frame, L, which is provided with a vertical pin, Z', engaging a slot, k2, in the end of the lever K adjacent to the cam. In the particular construction of these parts herein shown, the frame L is sustained in its part adjacent to the shaft D by means'of a block, L', mounted upon said shaft and having sliding engagement with a slot in the frame, which latter is constructed to slide at its outer end in an arm, L2, suitably located for the purpose.

The shuttles G G, herein illustrated, .differ from those heretofore commonly used in sewing-machines by being narrow as compared with their vertical depth, and the bobbins or thread-holders G thereon, instead of being of circular form and mounted to revolve in the shuttles, as common heretofore, consist lof dat tapered metal plates attached at their larger ends to the shuttles and adapted for the unwinding of the thread therefrom over their smaller and free ends, as clearly shown in Figs. l, 2, 3, and 5 of the drawings. In the particular form of the fiat bobbins G illustrated said bobbins are provided with knobs or heads g g at their free ends, the thread being wound about the bobbins in layers or coils extending from the said knobs to the larger ends thereof, so that when the thread is drawn from the bobbin in adirection endwise ofthe latter the said knob will canse the thread to unwind smoothly and freely without liability of the coils or turns becoming caught, interlocked, or tangled.

Abobbin made fiat and tapered in the manner above set forth is obviously calculated. to

contain a much larger quantity of thread within a space of a given width than the revolving bobbins heretofore generally employed, and

` said fiatbobbin is there fore particularly adapted for use in a gang sewing-machine of the character herein shown, inasmuch as the shuttles maybe thereby made thinner or narrower and the needles placed closer together than would otherwise be practicable in agang ma.

chine in which the shuttles pass between the needles.

rIhe bobbins may be secured in the shuttles in any desired manner, the device herein shown for this purpose consisting of a shank, g2, Fig. 5, tted to a socket, g3, in one end of the shuttle, Figs. 3 and 5, and a set-screw, g", for holding the shank in the socket. The thread may be led from the free end of the bobbin over any suitable guides upon the shuttle, the latter being provided in the particular construction illustrated with an aperture, g5, Fig. 6, near the point of the latter, through which the thread passes from the bobbin, and from which it is carried over the exterior surface of the shuttles to a tensionvdeviee, g, located upon the top surface of said shuttle, in the usual man- Der.

4strips or plates, ff, Fig. 6, arranged with spaces between them equal to the width of the shuttles, so as to guide and support said shuttles upon both sides of the latter, said plates ff being provided with horizontal iangesj'v f2 upon their lower edges, upon which the shuttles rest and slide, and which are' made of proper width to afford the slots or openingsf f, through which the prongs h extend to engage t-he shuttles, as above set forth. The strips ff, as shown, are sustained by being supported at their ends upon the sidewalls of the frame A, and attached at their middle parts to a plate, M, which contains the needleapertures m.

As shown and preferably constructed, the top plate, A', of-the machine is provided with ICO removable plates or sections N N, located over the end portions of the raceways F F. whereby access may be readily had to the said raceways to enable the shuttles to be placed in and removed from the ways.

To avoid liability of the shuttles lifting so as to allow the escape of the prongs or teeth 7L h from the recesses g g, the shuttles may be arranged to bear against the under surfaces of the plates or sectionshT N,or against the parts of the top plate of the machine corresponding therewith, in ease such removable sections are not used. The shuttles, when this construe tion is used, are preferably provided with a raised part or rib, gl, Figs. 2 and 3, affording the required bearing, with a minimum of area of surfaces in frictional contact, while at the same time providing the required spaces over the shuttles for the passage of the threads. Vhen the ribs gl, constructed and operating as described, are present, furthermore, the lower surface of the plate M will be located slightly above or free from contact with the said ribs, so as to form a space between said plate and the shuttles, through which space the thread may be drawn from the needle-apertures m over the rib 97 to the tension device ge, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, any bearing-surface to prevent the lifting of the shuttles obviously not being required in the middle part of the path of the shuttles, inasmuch as the teeth h are disengaged therefrom at this point for the passage of said shuttles through the thread-loops. The plates NN, as herein shown,

` are adapted to slide at their edges in dovetailed grooves an in the plate A, as clearly shown in Fig. 4; but said plates may be otherwise held, as found convenient or desirable.

The employment of a top bearing-surface over the shuttles to prevent the lifting of the latter may not in all eases be necessary, inasmuch as the gravity ofthe shuttles will usually preserve the required engagement of the prongs li It with the recesses g g of said shuttles. When the top bearing-surface is not employed, the ribs gT upon the shuttles will of cou rse be absent.

In the particular construction illustrated the vertical parts or stripsf of the guides F are only slightly thicker than the needles c, and said strips are therefore cutaway throughout their entire thickness to allow the downward passage of the needles, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In some cases, however, the strips may be made of suiiicient thickness to enable grooves for the needles to be formed therein, in which case the needles will be guided or sustained by the inner surfaces of the grooves in a familiar manner.

The machine constructed as above set forth maybe provided with any suitable feed device, that herein shown consisting of two serrated plates, O O, extending transversely over the shuttle-raceways F F, from side to side of the latter, one on each side ofthe plate M, said plates being attached at their ends to two yokes, O O', which are supported upon pins o o at their outer ends, and actuated by means of springs o o and cams Ol O2, adapted to give a compound motion to the plates O O, in the manner common 'in what is known as a fourmotion7 feed. y The cams O2 O2 shown are mounted upon the shaft D, by which the other parts ofthe machine are actuated.

In the form of the device illustrated in Figs. l, 2, 3, 4, and 5 the shuttles G G are shown as pointed at both ends. The devices for giving motion to the shuttle-carrier H, in case this construction is used, are adapted to move the shuttles in one direction only at cach downward movement of the needles, so that the lower threads are carried through the loops of the needles in one direction (as from right to left) in making one stitch, and in the opposite direction (as from left to right) in making the next stitch, this construction affording the obvious advantage of requiring the shuttles to be moved only half as fast, or that they should be given only half as many reciprocations as when the shuttle is moved forward and back at each descent of the needles. as is common in sewing-machines having reciprocating shuttles. The latter construction may, however, be employed in a machine made otherwise, as hereinbefore set forth, in which case a shuttle pointed at one end only, as shown in Fig. 6, will be used, and the cam E or other device actuating the shuttle carrier will be arranged to give a complete reciprocation or back-and` forth motion to the shuttles at each descent of the needles.

It will of course be understood when the cam E is adapted to give one complete reciprocation to the lever K and carrier H at each rotation of the shaft D, as is the case when double-pointed shuttles are used, that the needle-bar will not be actuated directly from or by the shaft, but that suitable intermediate devices will be employed between the shaft and needle-bar to cause the latter to make two downward movements to each rotation ofthe shaft, whereby the shuttles will be moved in one direction at one descent of the needles, and in the opposite direction at the next succeeding descent thereof.' \Vhen a singlepointed shuttle is used, on the contrary, the said shuttle will be thrown forward and back at each downward and upward movement of the needles in the usual manner, and the needle-bar may in this case be actuated directly by a crank-connection or otherwise from the shaft D. The cam E and lever K are herein shown as illustrating one way in which the shuttles may be driven; but it is entirely obvious that any well-known or preferred device may be employed for this purpose.

It will be observed that a great advantage exists in the use in a gang machine of a device comprising two movable toothed plates, HIH, adapted for engagement with the shuttles in the manner set forth, over the shuttle-carriers of the kind heretofore used, for the reason IOO IIO

that said devices herein shown do not require any space at the side of the shuttles to properly engage thelatter, so that the shuttles may be placed between their guide-plates without any intervening space between two adjacent shuttles, excepting thatv required for the said guide-plates. In some cases the needles may be placed at a sufficient distance apart to permit the use of the ordinary revolving bobbins, instead of the flat stationary bobbins herein shown; and it is to be understood, therefore, that the appended claims upon the shuttleactuating devices are not limited to the particular construction in the shuttles and bobbins shown, except in the claims in which said parts are specifically set forth.

It is to be understood,on the other hand,that the flat stationary bobbins described and shown may be employed in shuttles actuated otherwise than by the devices herein show.n,and said bobbins are therefore herein broadly claimed as applied in a gang7 sewing-machinewithv out limitation to their use in combination with other parts ofthe machine herein illustrated.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination, with a needle-bar carrying two or more needles, ot' a series of shuttles passing between the needles, raceways for the shuttles comprising` a series of vertical plates engaging opposite sides of the shuttles, and a single reciprocating shuttle-carrier for actuating the several shuttles, provided with two parts or plates arranged transversely bef neaththe shuttles, said parts or plates being movable vertically toward and from and constructed for engagement with the several shuttles, and means actuating said movable parts or plates of the carrier in alternation, to cause their engagement with and disengagementfrom the shuttles in the reciprocatory movement of the said carrier, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a needle-bar carrying two or more needles, of a series of shuttles passing between the needles, raceways for the shuttles comprising a series of vertical parts or plates engaging opposite sides of the shuttles, and means for actuating the shuttles, comprising ashuttle-carrier provided with vertically-movablepartsengaging the shuttles,and astationary cam actuating the said movable parts of the carrier,substantially as described.

8. The combination, with a needle-bar car-r cam for actuating the plates, provided with a cam surface engaging the lower port-ions of the plates, and spring arms sustaining the said plates from the carrier and acting to hold said plates in contact with the cam, substantially as described.

4. The combination. with a needle-bar carrying two or more needles and aseries of shuttles .passing between the needles and provided with recesses g g, of means for actuating the shuttles, comprising a reciprocating shuttlecarrier provided with vertically movable plates provided with teeth or prongs h h, engaging said recesses g g, and a stationary cain actuating said vertically-movable plates, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a needle-bar carrying two'or more needles, of aseries of reciprocating shuttles passing between the needles, means, substantially as described, for actuating the shuttles, and bobbins for the said shuttles of dat and tapered form provided with knobs or heads at their smaller ends and immovably attached within the shuttles, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a needle-bar carryingtwo or more needles,of a series of reciprocating shuttles passing between the needles and pointed at both ends, and means for actuating the shuttles, comprising a shuttle-carrier provided with movable parts engaging the shuttles, and means actuating said movable parts to causetheir engagement with and disengagement from the shuttles in the reciprocatory movement of the carrier, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MARsHALL GARDNER.

- Witnesses:

- M. E. DAYTON,

C. CLARENCE POOLE. 

